Home, Bittersweet Home: Reflections

Forestry might not be my calling, but this trip definitely made me realize the beauty of the rainforests and their biodiversity. Painting also might not be my thing, but it gave me a chance to try to help people in a completely different walk of life. I did learn, though, that I lOVE traveling. I love meeting new people and learning about a new culture. Costa Rica is one country, but it opened my eyes to the world.

The one aspect that caught my attention, however, was something that Adam asked on the second day of painting. “Do you think that an extra layer of paint is going to help these kids?” and when I thought about it, my answer was “no.” An extra layer of paint is not going to make sure the kids stay in school nor is it going to ensure they will be successful. This is my only regret about the trip. I feel pretty good about the community service we completed by painting the school, but at the same time, I feel as though there is something we could have done that would’ve been more significant. Something that would leave lasting change. Who knows, maybe some of us or even one of us will go back someday and do just that.

Junior Project. Those are the two words that planted the idea of traveling to Costa Rica into my head. It may have started off as a school project, but it became something more. I met many amazing people, some Ticos, some Americans. I learned a lot about the rainforests, about Costa Rica, and even about myself. Pura Vida. Those are the two words that will end this essay and begin a new chapter in my life.

July 7, 2012

Day 15: We got up and finished packing our things, we ate our last Costa Rican breakfast of the trip, and drove to the airport. I had to go pay my $28 airport fee. Next, I got my boarding pass. I found Adam under the sign where he told us to meet. We said our goodbyes to our awesome mentors, and filed off through security.

On the floor of the Liberia airport

Grace and Zach E. were the first ones to leave, but not before we all said bye to them. Then, all the people on the group flight left. You would not believe the tears. Finally, it was just Matt, Chang, Zach A., and me. We bought some (extremely overpriced) airport food, and ate until it was time to see Matt off. Next Zach, and then I had to leave Chang. Talk about a sad day L

July 6, 2012

Day 14:

The day started out very early i.e. we were up before the sun was up. We had mostly packed the night before, but we made sure everything was ready to go. We stuffed breakfast into our mouths and downed at least one cup of Costa Rican coffee. We filed into our vans and off we went. We were going to ride horses, white water tube, and go zip-lining.  

 

We arrived early and ended up having to wait for a while, but eventually, a person came to help us. The first activity was horseback riding.

Now, I should tell you that I am an equestrian, but I ride English style whereas these horses were decked out in Western saddles and neck reigned. Let me just say, I’m probably not going to cross over any time soon. But anyway, other people had fun so that was good.

Next, we went tubing, which was pretty fun.

Then, we went zip-lining which was probably my favorite activity of the day.

Nora conquers her fear of heights

Carrie is being Spiderman!

After our adventures, we went back to Horizontes, cleaned up a little, and went to a restaurant. The food was great! We then spent one last night at Horizontes, our last one in Costa Rica.

July 4-5, 2012

Day 12: It was July 4. Mapache himself is a very patriotic man, so when he found out it was America’s Independence Day, he got a pig. Yes, he found us a live pig. It was slaughtered and some of us watched, but not in a creepy I-love-blood sort of way. For the most part, it was just curiosity....

Day 13: We all went on a really long hike. By long I mean we left at 8:30 in the morning and got back around 5:30 pm. We walked through the rainforest, to a waterfall, and finally to the hot springs where we played in the mud.

It was drizzling most of the day, so everything was pretty wet and slippery, meaning we had to be careful of mud and rocks. Also, we had two separate groups and a guide for each. In the forest we saw both primary and secondary trees. There had been a natural disaster a while back which knocked out some Old trees, leaving a gap in the forest where new, quick-growing trees could live. The new trees, however, don't have a long lifespan, so they die relatively quickly leaving room for the types of trees that had been destroyed.

Old tree with parasitic vines

Near the base of the Volcano

 Then, we stopped for a while by the waterfall so we could eat the sandwhiches we packed for lunch.


Our end destination

Finally, we walked to the hot springs which were very relaxing after a long day's hike.

July 2-3, 2012

Day 10:

In the morning, we began painting the school. Which was kind of fun, but very messy… In the afternoon, we played with some Costa Rican children (approximately 8-12, maybe older, maybe younger). We played games such as Frisbee, freeze tag, and red light green light. It was really fun! 

Even Arnie, helped out!

Day 11:

We painted once again in the morning. Adam talked to us about something he calls “Cultural last Minute-itus.” It basically means that in the culture of Costa Rica and many other Central American countries it is socially acceptable, even the standard protocol, to wait to do everything until the last minute. If you’re meeting with someone at a certain, don’t expect them until at least 45 minutes after the stated time.

Anyway, he asked us what we should do while we waited for a woman to bring the keys (she’s the reason he started talking about cultural last minute-itus in the first place). We decided to pick up trash around the school.

Back at Home Base, we started a game of Assassin (with water guns), but Chang got me out almost right away. In my defense, I was trying to hang laundry out on the line.  

July 1, 2012

Day 9:

We took a hike with Mapache, Little Oscar, and Oso the dog. Mapache stopped us every now and again to point out various plants. Along the way, a couple people were stung by some crazy bees, but overall, the rainforest is SOO pretty. Here are a few pictures:

Mapache is showing us a skull he found

Look at all the catepillars!

Oso is just taking a quick rest. Que lindo!

In the afternoon, we split up into groups, and each group visited a different family. The point of the exercise was to meet the people we were hoping to help by painting the school. The family we met with was somewhat shy. They didn’t ask us many questions, but we asked  them a few. The father’s major concern with the school was not the paint job, but the fact that it doesn’t have any English lessons. He told us one needs English to get a good job. He was also very proud of his home because he had built it. If I were him, I’d be really proud too.  

Nice house, huh?

Yes, that's a pigeon

June 30, 2012

Day 8:

We went to a nice beach (one we could swim in). It was  SOOO nice. The only drawbacks were a) the sun and b) sand fleas or some sort of biting organism in the water. A couple people got some really bad sun burn, but all in all the day was very fun.

After we came back from the beach, we packed up once again and headed to the volcano where we would stay at Mapache’s. Just a couple fun facts: “Mapache” means “raccoon” in Spanish; Raccoons are known for being very intelligent; and Mapache’s real name is Oscar.

We arrived at his place in the afternoon. He designed all of the buildings on the property, his goal being to spread environmental awareness through tourism. We ate dinner, did our usual hanging out (we had an interesting talk about dreams) and finally went to sleep.  

June 29, 2012

Day 7:

View from the van window

We woke up, packed up all of our stuff, and hit the road. We traveled to Liberia where we spent some time buying souvenirs and checking out the downtown area. Some of us sat in the park for a while, where we saw Costa Rican school kids hanging out. They eyed us (one girl was definitely checking Justin out), but mostly kept to themselves.

View from our room's balcony

Afterwards, we went back in the vans and drove out to Ecoplaya, a beach resort. The rooms were pretty nice, but in all honesty, I slept better back at Horizontes. As soon as we got there, we ate lunch (I don’t know about the others, but I was starving).

Then, we explored the beach and saw first-hand a mangrove. The saddest part was that there was so much algae people weren’t allowed to swim. In the late evening, we were split up into a few groups to have a fire building contest. It was a real challenge! EVERYTHING was wet from rain and, since we were on the beach, the wind was blowing like crazy, but we still tried (without success).

Building a Fire with my team

June 28, 2012

Day 6:  
Thursday was my birthday. That’s right, I turned 16 in Costa Rica. The best part? I got special hammock privileges J people even signed a card for me. How nice =)

What else happened? Well after breakfast, we split up into two groups: girls and boys, which was nearly even. While we, the girls (duh) painted a bridge, the guys were off in the woods macheteing (I’m pretty sure that’s not a word) away. Then, in the afternoon, we wrote stories in the perspective of different species of trees for a pamphlet designed to encourage tourism. We were all a little tired, so Kate made some espresso, which was nice.

The day was pretty chill. Overall, it was a good birthday. Just in case you were wondering, it doesn’t feel all that different to be 16…

Oh, and I got cake :)

June 27, 2012

Day 5:

Sasha and Geovanny planting a tree

In the morning, we went back to the same sight to plant trees. I planted nearly the entire time, but there were other jobs such as digging holes and fertilizing.

Later in the day, We participated in a leadership activity which involved personal questions, and a very long piece of duct tape. The tape was placed on the floor to act as a line (which in fact it was), and Kate would ask a question like "who has been affected by a family member involved in drugs or alcohol?" Those who answered yes to the question crossed the line.

We also played a game called Exquisite Corpse which was fun or at least funny. Each person starts with a piece of paper and writes an adjective, then folds the paper over so that their word can't be seen. He or she passes the paper to the left. Next, everyone writes a noun on the paper he or she has just received, passing it once again. Next, the players look at both the adjective and the noun, and try to draw it. For example, Bob writes "beautiful" and hands it to Paul who writes "cow." Jerry then tries to draw a beautiful cow, and Betty tries to guess what the picture is including one adjective and one noun. The next person has draw what Betty has written. According to Adam, the results of the game can show the dynamic of a group. Before we went to bed, most of us sat around hanging out which is what we did in our free time, which was nice because it was times like these that allowed us to bond as a group.

Finished example



June 26, 2012

Day 4: This was the first day we went out to clear branches from a plot of land (40m x 80m) where we would plant trees in the future. It was hot work since we were in the direct sunlight, but it was also somewhat rewarding since we could definitely see a difference. Also, Ronald, Geovanny, and Pedro were grateful because it would have taken them days to complete the work all alone that we accomplished in a few hours.
After lunch, we took a hike to the waterfall half of us had gone to on the first day. Right before we arrived at the waterfall, rain started falling, and by no time, it was downright pouring. We stayed for a while, some of us swam, but we had to leave early since lighting began to strike. By the time we got back to our Home Base, we were SOAKED. We literally had to dump water out of our shoes (or in some cases rain boots).

June 25, 2012

Day 3: 

We woke up and ate breakfast, but this time we were served pancakes and fruit instead of the more traditional rice and beans. We met up afterward so that Adam and Kate could introduce the staff of Horizontes which included Vanessa, Ronald, Geovanny, Pedro, and Maria. We also heard presentations about the Guanacaste Conservation Area from Vanessa and Ronald. The presentations were interesting, but slow-going since every sentence had to be translated.

Then, we were taught by Geovanny and Pedro how to plant trees in bags. We were split up into groups, assigned various tasks like mixing soil, packing the dirt into small bags, placing the seeds in, and then carefully arranging the bags in neat rows of ten, making sure that they are all perfectly upright.

When we finished, we ate lunch, and in the afternoon, we all traveled to the supermarket where we were able to buy machetes. We returned to Horizontes, and of course had to learn how to use the machetes. We got a lesson from Adam who took us out into a cow pasture and told us that we must always swing at a 45° angle to avoid cutting ourselves.

June 24, 2012

Day 2:
I woke up around 7 o'clock and we (Kate, Adam, Arnie, and I think a few other staff members) ate breakfast which consisted of rice and beans. Arnie didn't speak much English, but he did suggest that I try putting sour cream on the rice and beans which, as it turned out, was really tasty.

Later, probably around mid-day, five more students arrived: Matt, Zach from Florida, Zach from Baltimore, Grace, and Chang. They were allowed to unpack for a while, and then we all went on a hike to a waterfall where Adam and Vanessa wanted to set a couple minnow traps. We would come back in two days with the rest of the group. On the way to the waterfall, we learned about a few different types of acacia trees. One, called a bullthorn acacia (more often called "the scary ant trees" by our group) has large thorns and a symbiotic relationship with a certain species of ants who attack organisms trying to harm the tree. We hike for maybe 45-50 minutes. The view from the top of the waterfall was beautiful. We then walked around to the bottom where some of us stood IN the waterfall. We walked back a little muddier than we had started out.

View from the top

The waterfall itself

We ate dinner about 6, around the time it got dark (since Costa Rica is so close to the equator, the time the sun sets only varies about 30 minutes throughout the year). The cook at Horizontes prepared macaroni and cheese with broccoli which is more western, but good all the same. What stood out the most was the juice which had been made from real, fresh fruit. The six of us went back to the area around our rooms. There were a couple hammocks, a rocking chair, a bench, and a few mats. We didn't know it then, but this would become the hangout location for the next week. We talked a little as we waited for the second group to come (we had to stay up so that we could take a group photo with everyone there), but there was also a lot of silence. The second group consisted of 9 who came on a group flight. There were four who all came from the Bay Area near San Francisco: Carrie, Evan, Sasha, and Jesse. The rest came from various places including Arizona, Wisconsin, and New Hampshire: Bella, Micha, Nora, Justin, and Ian.

We took our photo, and headed off to our rooms. There were four rooms all together—two for girls and two for boys. There was one bathroom per two rooms, and each room had two bunk beds. Most of us were pretty tired, so we took turns brushing our teeth (there was also a sink outside) and went to sleep.

Outside my room

Inside my room

June 23, 2012

Day 1:

So here's the thing: that once-a-week flight took place on June 23 while the program started on June 24, meaning that I arrived in Guanacaste one day earlier than everyone else. I thought that would be the most awkward thing in the world—just the mentors and me, however, it was pretty cool. Anyways, more on that later. I woke up at 2 o'clock in the morning to drive to Chicago. And by 6:30 my mom and I finally found our way to the correct terminal. We shared one of those embarrassing airport hugs and I was on my way through security. My flight was on time, even early, but once I landed it was realized that we had received the wrong paperwork to get through immigration. So, some airport employees scurried around looking for the correct forms, and the people in my flight waited in line while others were allowed through. Talk about frustrating! I was relieved when we finally got the right paperwork.


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Can you see the lizzard?

Finished with immigration, I walked through the door leading to the rest of the airport and was overwhelmed by many people holding signs yelling, "taxi, taxi!" Then, to my relief, I heard someone calling my name. I looked around to find that the voice belonged to a young-looking blond woman. She introduced herself as Kate, one of the two mentors. I also met Arnie one of drivers. Since, I was there early, there was a still a little prep work to be completed. We went by a Tico grocery store to pick up some bread and lunch-meat to make sandwiches for when the others would arrive. We drove to Horizontes, the station of experimental forests, in the dry tropical forest where we would be staying for nearly a week. There, I met Adam, the second mentor. I was able to look around a little and that was pretty much it for that day.

The trees are amazing